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Photo? Link?loanwolf 6000
Yea, I have tinnitus and know it is likely from all the air tools I have used over the years. I learned to use safety glasses after I was dumb enough to lean in and look closely at a drum being cut on a brake lathe and got a very small piece of metal in my eye. Younger days of stupid teach you to be smarter.Man that's a tough question been turning wrenches 50 years , cant beat good Safety glasses and ear protection For you younger Guys and Gals with out eyes,ears and touch your tools wont matter, Sorry I know my ears ring all the time and hard to but on bolts when you cant feel them Just a old guy here ...
My 1988 Craftsman drill is just about ready to crumble into dust. Pulled it out to make those little blocks I raised my work table with, and was gonna remove some bent deck screws from the 4x4 blocks. Flick the lever to reverse.. drill goes forward. Flick it the other way.. still forward.Tough question. Hard to quantify because what does "best investment" mean? Something you've used many times over the course of decades, and it's paid for itself dozens of times over? That's good - but it's not useful advice to anyone today, because that item is no longer available and its modern replacement is very unlikely to deliver that same performance.
If I was really pressed to decide I'd say it's probably my Craftsman 3/8" electric drill. I bought this thing in 1988. Made in USA. Some of you probably weren't even born yet. I initially bought it and a Skilsaw (also still own and it works fine but I don't use it nearly as often) to do a quickie plywood bed floor install in my '61 Apache fleetside. Drill has seen better days, chuck slips if you don't tighten the hell out of it and the teeth are worn down. Cord outer insulation is cracking all over. That drill has been abused for decades and still hasn't given up. Mind you when I did my recent flip kit on the '93 dually I mostly used my SnapOn air drill, but every now and then to give my compressor a rest, the Craftsman came into play. If it crumbled into dust this very moment, it owes me nothing at all.
As far as modern items that are super useful and a good deal? Probably my BAFX Pro OBDII bluetooth code reader. Connected to vehicles that the cheaper generic blue elm327 reader wouldn't, and has got me out of plenty of jams, paired with Torque Pro for reading the codes. That's a $30 investment that has paid for itself multiple times right away. I've got a Launch CRP123 reader for more involved stuff (gmt800 air bag sensors for example) but it's still an entry-level piece and didn't cost much.
Richard
Crapsman chucks were garbage when new. A proper replacement chuck will delight you. Pull it apart, slam in new bearings, new brushes, and a new cord. Polish the armature bars. I bet you can pull the switches apart for cleaning and lube.Flick the lever to reverse.. drill goes forward. Flick it the other way.. still forward.
Between that, the worn out chuck, the grumbling noises from the bearings, and the nearly non-existent outer cord insulation.. I still can't believe this thing works. But clearly, its days are numbered.
We'll see. It's probably worth messing with; it's not like it's vintage-quality or anything but it's been sturdy and reliable for decades. Also there's nothing like an electric drill for throwing low-speed torque at a job, something my air drill seems noticeably less capable of.Crapsman chucks were garbage when new. A proper replacement chuck will delight you. Pull it apart, slam in new bearings, new brushes, and a new cord. Polish the armature bars. I bet you can pull the switches apart for cleaning and lube.
Better than new.